Putting one foot in front of the other isn't always easy

Cabin fever

This past weekend, I was feeling down. I completely blame my mood on my hatred for January and February. Hubby was still recovering from his illness, so we were extra lazy.

Friday: I skipped my workout.

Saturday: I cut my planned long run short by 3 miles.

Sunday: I slashed my swim workout in half.

By Sunday night, my blues lifted and I was eager to start a new week. My legs longed to get in a good tempo run on Monday.

But then this happened:

Doggie snow angels 😉

A few inches of snow Sunday night, topped with some ice on Monday.

I couldn’t run outside and my gym- along with the rest of the Southeast- was closed.

I yearned for a good workout, but my only piece of indoor exercise equipment is my husband’s bike trainer.

I know some people like it, but I loathe the trainer. I’m not the biggest fan of biking, but move it indoors, and I detest it even more. (Which is so odd because I used to heart spinning.) I haven’t been on the trainer since training for my first half marathon back in the spring in 2006.

But the past couple of days, if I wanted to sweat, this was my only option 😦

Monday, I rode the trainer for 45 minutes. It sucked. I used all of my treadmill tricks: varying my speed, distance, and position on the bike. It was still brutal.

Tuesday, I hopped on the torture device again. Because of saddle sores, I only lasted 35 minutes.

I am crossing my fingers that the gym is open tomorrow. There’s no way I can hop on the bike for the third day in a row. I am running tomorrow no matter what. ﻿Even if that means running up and down my own stairs…

How do you workout when you’re stuck at home? One day I hope to have a home treadmill.

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37 Responses

Good job getting something done even if it was something you hate!!! I am not a member of a gym BUT I have a small home gym complete with a treadmill and spin bike (plus the husbands bike trainer) and weights. So if I were to get stuck home I could use those, even though I NEVER use my TM.

I have a treadmill in my basement. It pays for itself after a few years since I don’t have a gym membership. There’s no excuses then…just roll out of bed and hop on. I don’t love it but for winter running, it’s essential!

This may sound ridiculous but one of the workouts I do at home is walking up and down the stairs over and over again. I think it’s the ghetto version of a stair master. Today I did 30 minutes and then followed with 30 minutes of vinyasa yoga–another good at home workout. And I’ve been getting back to basics w/ strength training and doing more simple push ups and sit ups instead of using machines.

It’s rare that I’m stuck inside (there’s only been one snowstorm I can remember anything closing in my life. I guess we’re just really used to it here lol). But I usually just try a video on the Exercise TV onDemand channel. It’s something different 🙂

I’m not a fan of the trainer either!
When I workout at home I download a yoga podcast or do a series of: lunges, crunches, squats, pushups, mountain climbers, weight lifting, etc.
Hope you can run outside again soon! Boston’s getting hit hard tomorrow.

I totally feel ya, I am just itching to get a good run in! All of this snow, and now the ice, is definitely putting a cramp in my style. I am hoping this ice goes away, and quick!

Also, I want to let you know that the Y is letting everyone and anyone come in and workout for free (they’re also offering free 2-week membership passes…) So if you can make it out of your driveway in a car, you’ll be able to run tomorrow! (I posted about this on my blog today if you want more details.) Happy running!

Hand weights, planks, push ups, and my nemesis, the pull up bar. I don’t have stairs but I’d do those too if I had them. The great part about working out at home is you can crank the music up and just have fun!

i have a hard time biking for a long time, too. my booty gets too sore. do you have any workout dvds? some of them are GREAT cardio workouts! i think that would be way better than the indoor trainer any day.

good work being disciplined enough to do something, even if it’s not as fun as running outside. don’t be too afraid to head out into the snow. i really do enjoy *within reason* a good winter run. its enjoyable and peaceful, as long as its not too windy.

i’m not sure i could handle a trainer…the only thing i enjoy about riding a bike is the wind and feeling like i’m going fast…good work on you!

I’ve never tried the indoor trainer but my boyfriend really loves his. He pops in a movie or a tv show and rides along. It works for him, but I can’t really imagine loving it either. But then again, I was never a huge fan of the stationary bike.

This is going to sound dumb, but my new favorite indoor “workout” is Just Dance 2, haha I actually was shocked by how good of a workout it is! And the time goes by fast. 😉 Other than that, I don’t have much at my disposal. I’ve got 1 Jillian Michaels workout DVD, but I REALLY wish I had a home gym with a treadmill.

Speaking of which, if you need further motivation to buy a treadmill, I was reading Cesar Millan’s book the other day and he actually recommends getting a treadmill for your dog! He said if you can’t get them out to walk enough, a treadmill can be a great form of exercise — and any dog (supposedly) can be trained to use it. So the way I figure it is…if it’s good for me AND the dog then I probably should buy one 😉

I am seriously considering a treadmill. Other than my yoga mat and my own body weight, I don’t have much to work with at home. A big storm is hitting us tomorrow (grr) and since we all know how brave I am, it looks like I will be back in the gym again. I recently bought Yak Traks. I might jog around the ‘hood tomorrow to test them out. Hope those southern states can dig out soon!

I love Jillian Michaels workout DVDs… my current fav is “Shred it with Weights” which uses a 10lb kettle bell. You might think it doesnt do much but she seriously kicks butt. Especially for a distance runner like myself who doesnt strength train alot.
Sometimes on days when I have an easy run on the schedule I will do the DVD afterwards since I’m already sweaty.

I live in Raleigh and it is SO icy outside. I’m not afraid to run in the cold or snow but when the sidewalk is a sheet of ice, running outside is literally impossible. I almost slipped several times walking to our apartment gym and I was walking extremely slowly. I know people are suggesting that you just “suck it up and run” but I understand that it’s literally impossible.

I like doing excersice workouts onDemand or doing boxing on Wii Sports. I wish I had a treadmill at home but the hubs doesn’t think we have space for it…booo
I hurt riding the spin bike two days in a row too… couldnt do it! I hope you get to run tomorrow! Im going to be stuck indoors – we are getting the snowstorm now!

I just ordered a trainer so this post scares me a little haha!
I did workout videos during our snopocalypse. But I totally understand the cabin fever. My fingers are crossed that your gym is open today.

Ouch! Sounds like you (your rear end?) and cycling just don’t work well together! I think I would DIE if I got saddle sores b/c I love cycling so much! I’ve actually been wanting to get a trainer, but I can’t really justify getting one since I don’t “need” it due to weather – I can really ride outside any day since we don’t get snowed in.

when I am stuck inside though – rain or too darn HOT – I stick with DVDs or On Demand videos. I’ve found some really great workouts that way. They’re no match for getting outside and riding or running, but they’re definitely good in a pinch.

Hey doll! I just wanted to let you know that i tagged you with a Stylish Blogger Award on my blog. I’m afraid to put the website because I don’t want this to be spam, but I just wanted to let you know!

I’m new to running and have spent the past few years in the cycling world. You are right about the trainer–it totally sucks, but here’s my go-to pyramid workout that kicks my butt in a short amount of time.

I’ll do this pyramid 1-3 times and then a quick cool down. I find that having a plan makes the time go by faster. I HAVE to watch something on TV or the computer while I’m riding too, or I’ll just go insane.

I have a small one bedroom apartment I share with my husband in DC so when we get snowed in, our space is limited for exercise to say the least. For “Snowmagaddon” last year we resorted to OnDemand fitness videos, Wii tennis matches with as much movement as possible, and doing a few routines on our Punching Bob. My husband loves boxing workouts so he taught me a few routines which turned out to be a pretty good source of exercise.
Love your blog by the way! I just registered for my first 10K and hope to get into running more and your blog is definately a good motivator.

Last year we were snowed in and I was desperate as well so I invented a bootcamp type workout – just made a list of random moves (squat jumps, bicep curls, etc) and had my husband time me and yell out the next move every minute or 30 seconds. It got the job done.

SO hard to get outside when it’s cold and snowy (I live in Calgary where today we’ve got -22 C and -31 C with windchill!)…When I can’t get out but need to move, I turn to high intensity workouts. They’re quick, hard, get you breathing and exhausted, and done in a small space in the comfort of your home! 😉 Just wrote a post today on it, actually – http://ow.ly/3CW6P – SO many good, fast workouts you can do (doesn’t take the place of run, I know, but it keeps your fitness up and doesn’t take long). Happy moving, Jen! Love all the running thoughts too…have a good one.

I live in Atlanta so I’ve been stuck inside all week too. I literally couldn’t leave my apartment Monday or Tuesday, ventured out for a short (disastrous) walk on Weds, and made a short trip to a pub for dinner on Thursday night. Yesterday my gym opened and I swear, I’ve never been so happy to see a treadmill.

Mon-Thurs when I couldn’t run or go to the gym, I found a 10 Minute Carb Solutions workout DVD on Netflix Instant. It’s made up of 5 10-minute cardio and resistance workouts. I didn’t have hand weights to do the 5th segment but I did the first 4 in a row for 4 days. I had to change my mantra from “I don’t get out of bed for anything less than 5 miles” to “Any exercise is better than nothing.” The workouts weren’t a substitute for my usual runs but they did help me work up a sweat and they got my heartrate up. Because they’re meant to be done individually, they’re quite high intensity. Put 4 of them back to back and you have a decent workout!

Am venturing out for my first outdoor run in a week tomorrow but I’ve had to cut my planned 20 miler (marathon training) down to 8 or so because I can only run very short laps in my neighbourhood. Everywhere else is just way too icy.